I worked with Patricia for the past 16 years and would like to acknowledge her wonderful intellect and energy that made our work vital, intersting and relevant. It is rare these days to meet a person who isn't afraid to think of the bigger picture and Patricia did nothing by halves. Opposition, injustice, fear, loathing, love and joy was something she met head on and deconstructed into the sum of of it's smaller parts while still celebrating the whole complex mess of the thing itself. She was an excellent colleague but most of all she was a great friend and I will miss her dearly and will think of her often.

I worked with Patricia for the past 16 years and would like to acknowledge her wonderful intellect and energy that made our work vital, intersting and relevant. It is rare these days to meet a person who isn't afraid to think of the bigger picture and Patricia did nothing by halves. Opposition, injustice, fear, loathing, love and joy was something she met head on and deconstructed into the sum of of it's smaller parts while still celebrating the whole complex mess of the thing itself. She was an excellent colleague but most of all she was a great friend and I will miss her dearly and will think of her often.

I worked with Patricia for a number of years as a colleague in forensic medicine at Liverpool Hospital. Having left Sydney to work in aboriginal health in the Northern Territory for the last 8 years, I had lost touch with Patricia. However, I ran into a colleague late last year who told me of her illness. Today, the 12th March, at Tennant Creek, I felt I had to 'google' her name. And there it was - her funeral was yesterday. Dear Patricia, you were a truly wonderful person, of prodigious intellect and passion. Our discussions were usually feisty. You always managed to win an argument- the right words were always there. I learnt so much about being passionate in one's work from you. You are a true loss to your profession, your family, your friends and colleagues and indeed to the world. It's a thundery day up here and I'm wondering if the thunder is a sign you're already arguing with St Peter about getting through those pearly gates!

Beliefs, felt to be held freely, are like a steel blade, an infinitely thin steel blade, suspended in the current at the top of the Niagara Falls, pointing in the same direction as that of the tons of water roaring over the edge. While in line with the current there is theoretically minimal force on the blade’s equilibrium. But should it be turned to engage the current ever so slightly, what massive force it would experience. "Rev Dr" Like the blade, a sense of personal well being can be maintained effortlessly as long as you do not engage the currents that hold the interests of some in place while they sweep the lives of countless others over the edge. To begin to develop a social conscience requires turning ever so slightly into the very tiniest edge of that force. To turn is to risk change. You will hear the roar and feel the danger which previously, a micro-millimetre away, you felt only as order and equanimity. From a speech by Patricia Brennan, 1998 After many phone calls from her friends and other doctors and eventhough out of my usual area of visitation, I decided to visit Dr Brennan in her home last month. I did not know if I was wanted by her or would be intruding. Now, I am very grateful I went to visit Patricia Brennan and her family in her home last month.

I met Patricia as she awaited consultation with doctors. I'm a volunteer at the hospital and offered her a cup of tea. Instead, we talked for an hour or so about a whole range of topics, including her change from doctor to patient. Her intelligence, honesty and warmth deeply affected me and I knew I had met a very special woman. I am deeply saddened that she is gone.

I am so glad I went to visit Patiricia last month. After many phone calls and requests form friends and doctors, although I did not usually go so far, I went to visit her home, fearful I may be intruding if she were not requesting me directly. After being at her home and in her room a short while, I felt we were meant to meet. Her immediate trust of my care was was both an honour and a burden, particulary as I realised who she was and could see how difficult these days would be for her and also for a family so closely bonded. It is hard to witness the strains of psyche and body in someone filled with so many strengths and to be responsible for shepherding what can't always naturally happen . When she called me "Reverend Doctor", I knew what I felt I had to do for her was what she wanted from me. It is very seldom such certainty comes so quickly and so wisdom filled from one in so much pain. She helped me re-focus on important things; those things that were important for her, and should be important for us all. I am so grateful I went to visit Patricia and her family last month.

Kate Brennan

13 years ago

So are we

Years ago I heard of Patricia Brennan who was involved in women as priests. Then I met her husband Rob who we travel to the outback with. Tricia was always part of the trips either through biscuits she baked and sent through the mail or through the stories Rob told us of her person, her work,her wisdo and the deep love they shared. Then I was fortunate enough to meet Tricia in the Blue Mts. We shared a drink and I found that she was everything that Rob had spoken of. What a wonderful woman -so full of life and a belief in justice for all.

Newlyweds Pat & Rob Brennan arrived in Syracuse, New York in late 1971 on an 18 month honeymoon/working jaunt around the world. Rob had a 6 month commitment to work for my employer here, and thus began a lifelong friendship with this extraordinary couple. I'll never forget how awestruck I was when I met Pat. She was beautiful, strong, vibrant, and humorous with an inquisitive, sharp mind and had a passion to help make the world a better place. An ill-timed medical equivalency exam left Pat unable to do anything but observe doctors on their rounds at a local hospital in Syracuse. Undaunted, she found employment at a hospital in Toronto, Canada, leaving the newlyweds living in different countries. Until Rob's employment commitment finished, Pat and Rob alternated weekend travel - not an easy task if you know anything about winters in upstate NY. For them, this inconvenience was just part of their adventure. For me, this outlook on life spoke volumes about my new friends. Dr. Pat has left her mark on this world and I feel blessed and honored to have known her.

It was the summer of 1965. We were members of the Byron Bay Beach Mission Team. Pat and I and another young woman called Nancy found we could harmonize. We connected up with Howie and Gary, who could manage all kinds of awkward chords on guitar and we formed a folk group in the coffee shop each evening in the big marquee. Rob Brennan later to be Pat's loving husband was a guiding force on the team. Meeting Pat was transformational for me. She could put together an intellectual argument while making fiercely funny observations. With this combination of humour, passion for social causes, on top of her medical career and role as wife and mother, Pat imparted a memorable quality of change for the betterment of society.